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Oklahoma State Laws

Landlords and tenants will face legal issues during the rental process, but not every issue needs to involve the courts. This article will help you learn how the laws in your state handle everything from security deposits to termination notices so you can easily navigate these.

This article is not an exhaustive or a substitute for qualified legal advice. Laws and statutes are subject to change and may vary by county or city. You are responsible for performing your research and complying with all laws applicable to your unique situation.

We recommend consulting with the appropriate government agencies and a qualified lawyer if you have legal questions or concerns. Your state bar association may have a referral service to help you find a lawyer with experience in landlord-tenant law.

Official Rules and Regulations

Security Deposit:

  • Security Deposit Maximum: No statute.
  • Security Deposit Interest: Interest is not required to be paid on the deposit (§ 115(B)).
  • Separate Security Deposit Bank Account: The security deposit must be kept in an escrow account maintained in the state with a federally insured financial institution. (§ 115(A)).
  • Pet Deposits: No statute.
  • Non-Refundable Fees: No rule.
  • Deadline for Returning Security Deposit: 30 days from the date of termination of tenancy and move-out, and the tenant must request in writing within six months of move-out that the deposit be returned, or it reverts to the landlord (§ 115(B)).
  • Permitted Uses of the Deposit: The security deposit can be used to pay for unpaid rent and damages caused by the tenant’s noncompliance with the rental agreement or rental statutes (§ 115(B)).
  • Require Written Description/Itemized List of Damages and Charges: Yes, an itemized statement of deposit withholdings must be delivered to the tenant in person or by mail with the return receipt requested. (§ 115(B)).
  • Record Keeping of Deposit Withholdings: No statute.
  • Receipt of Deposit: No law.
  • Failure to Comply: Misappropriation of the security deposit is punishable by up to six months in county jail and a fine of up to twice the amount misappropriated from the escrow account (§ 115(A)).

Lease, Rent & Fees:

  • Rent Is Due: As agreed to in the lease (§ 109(B)).
  • Rent Increase Notice: There is no statute, but the lease typically defines this.
  • Rent Grace Period: No regulation.
  • Late Fees: There is no statute, but late fees are allowed by case law with certain restrictions. See Sun Ridge Investors v. Parker.
  • Prepaid Rent: No statute.
  • Returned Check Fees: No statute defines allowable fees for returned checks, though the statute defines fines and criminal penalties for check fraud. (§ 1541.1)
  • Tenant Allowed to Withhold Rent for Failure to Provide Essential Services (Water, Heat, etc.): After giving the landlord written notice of a breach of statutory Landlord Duties, the tenant may procure the essential services during the period of the landlord’s noncompliance and deduct the actual and reasonable cost from the rent. See the statute for other tenant options (§ 121).
  • Tenant Allowed to Repair and Deduct Rent: For repairs up to $100 that is for conditions affecting health, the tenant must notify the landlord in writing of the tenant’s intention to repair at the landlord’s expense after 14 days. If, after 14 days, the landlord has not remedied the situation, or sooner if emergency conditions warrant, the tenant may have the repair done and then, after submitting an itemized statement to the landlord, deduct the reasonable amount of the repair from the rent (§ 121(B)).
  • Landlord Allowed to Recover Court and Attorney Fees: The prevailing party in any residential rental-related lawsuit is entitled to reasonable attorney fees. Rental agreements, however, may not include any provision for either party to pay the other party’s attorney fees (§ 105(B)).
  • The Landlord Must Make a Reasonable Attempt to Mitigate Damages to Lessee, including an Attempt to Rerent: Yes (§ 105(A)) and (§ 129(B)).
  • Abandonment/Early Termination Fee: No statute.

Notices and Entry:

  • Notice to Terminate Tenancy – Fixed End Date in Lease: No notice is required as the lease expires (§ 111(C)).
  • Notice to Terminate Tenancy – Month-to-Month Lease: 30 days written notice (§ 111(A)).
  • Notice to Terminate Tenancy – Week-to-Week Lease: Seven days’ written notice is required for any lease less than month-to-month (§ 111(B)).
  • Immediate Termination of Tenancy: Yes, if the tenant causes violations of the rental agreement or statutory Tenant Duties that cause or threaten to cause imminent and irreparable harm to the premises or any person and which the tenant has not remedied as promptly as conditions require once notified, the tenancy can immediately terminate. Landlords may also immediately terminate the lease for drug-related criminal activity or any other criminal activity that threatens the health, safety, or peaceful enjoyment of the premises (§ 132(C) and (D)).
  • Notice of Date/Time of Move-Out Inspection: No statute.
  • Notice of Termination for Nonpayment: Landlords may terminate the rental agreement if the tenant fails to pay rent within five days of landlord having given written demand for payment. Furthermore, notwithstanding the five days’ grace period, landlord may begin an action for recovery of the rent at any time if rent is unpaid when due (§ 131).
  • Termination for Lease Violation: 15 days’ written notice for tenant noncompliance with either the rental agreement or with statutory Tenant Duties, but tenant has 10 days to remedy to avoid termination (§ 132(B)).
  • Required Notice before Entry: One days’ notice (§ 128(C)).
  • Entry Allowed with Notice for Maintenance and Repairs (non-emergency): Yes, with one days’ notice and entry is allowed only at reasonable times (§ 128(A) and (C)).
  • Entry Allowed with Notice for Showings: Yes (§ 128(A)).
  • Emergency Entry Allowed without Notice: Yes (§ 128(B)).
  • Entry Allowed During Tenant’s Extended Absence: Allowed only if tenant has abandoned or surrendered the premises (§ 128(D)).
  • Notice to Tenants for Pesticide Use: No statute.
  • Lockouts Allowed: No (§ 123).
  • Utility Shut-offs Allowed: No (§ 121(C)).

Disclosures and Miscellaneous Notes:

  • Name and Addresses: Landlords must disclose to their tenants, in writing at or before the start of the tenancy, the name and address of the owner of the premises, as well as that of any authorized property manager, and of anyone authorized to act on behalf of the owner for receipt of service or notices (§ 116(A)).
  • Copy of the Lease: No statute.
  • Domestic Violence Situations: No statute. Directories of local support organizations across the state are provided by the Oklahoma Coalition Against Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault
  • Landlord’s Duties: (§ 118(A))
    • Repairs: Make all repairs and do whatever is necessary to put and keep the tenant’s unit and premises in a fit and habitable condition; and,
    • Common Areas: Except for single-family homes, keep all common areas in a clean, safe and sanitary condition; and,
    • Maintenance: Maintain in good and safe working order and condition all electrical, plumbing, sanitary, heating, ventilating, air-conditioning, and other facilities and appliances, including elevators, supplied or required to be supplied; and,
    • Garbage: Except for one or two-family residences or where provided by a governmental entity, provide and maintain appropriate receptacles for the removal of garbage and other waste incidental to occupancy and arrange for their frequent removal; and,
    • Water and Heat: Except in the case of a single-family residence or where the service is supplied by direct and independently metered utility connections to the unit, supply running water and reasonable amounts of hot water at all times and reasonable heat.
  • Tenant’s Duties: (§ 127)
    • Compliance: Comply with all covenants, rules, regulations and the like which are in accordance with § 126 – Tenant’s Use and Occupancy of Premises – Rules and Regulations;
    • Cleanliness: Keep that part of the premises that tenant occupies and uses as clean and safe as the condition of the premises permit;
    • Trash: Dispose of all garbage and other waste in a clean and safe manner;
    • Plumbing: Keep all plumbing fixtures in the unit or used by the tenant as clean as their condition permits;
    • Appliances: Use in a safe and nondestructive manner all electrical, plumbing, sanitary, heating, ventilating, air-conditioning and other facilities and appliances including elevators in the premises;
    • Lawful Activity: Not engage in criminal activity that threatens the health, safety, other tenants’ peaceful enjoyment of the premises or is a danger to the premises, and not engage in any drug-related criminal activity on or near the premises either personally or by any member of the tenant’s household or any guest or other person under the tenant’s control;
    • Quiet Enjoyment: Conduct oneself and require others on the premises with tenant consent to conduct themselves in a manner that will not disturb his neighbors’ peaceful enjoyment of the premises.
  • Retaliation: No statute.
  • Lead Disclosure: Landlords must disclose all known lead paint hazards. Landlords must also provide tenants, as an attachment to a written lease, with an information pamphlet on lead-based paint hazards.
  • Tenant Options in Case of Fire: If the rental unit is significantly damaged by fire that is not tenant’s fault, the tenant may:
    • Immediately vacate and give one-week written notice to terminate the rental agreement, in which case the rental agreement terminates the date the tenant vacates, or
    • If it is possible for the tenant to continue living in the unit, the tenant must vacate the unusable part of the dwelling unit, in which case the tenant’s liability for rent is reduced in proportion to the reduced fair rental value of the unit (§ 122).
  • Denial or Termination of Tenancy to Blind Person Because of Guide Dog: Landlords cannot deny or terminate a tenancy to a blind, deaf, or physically handicapped people because of the person’s guide, signal or service dog unless such dogs are specifically prohibited in the rental agreement entered into prior to November 1, 1985 (§ 113.1).
  • Disclosure of Prior Methamphetamine Manufacture: Prior to the start of a rental agreement, if the landlord knows, or has reason to know, that the unit or any part of the premises was used in the manufacture of methamphetamine, the landlord must then disclose this information to a prospective tenant. See statute for exception to disclosure requirement(§ 118(C)).
  • Disclosure of Flooding within Past Five Years: If the rented premises has been flooded within the past five years, the landlord must notify tenants prominently of the fact in the rental agreement. Failure to provide such information shall entitle any tenant to sue the landlord for personal property damages sustained by the tenant from flooding of the premises (§ 113(A)).

Court Related:

Business Licenses:

  • Business License Required: No statewide statute, but local cities and counties may have regulations and requirements. Check with your local governing authority.

Helpful Links

State Agencies & Regulatory Bodies

Housing Authorities

Realtor, Landlord, and Tenant Organizations

 

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